Hello Friends & Neighbors,

I am pleased to announce that I proudly took the A.L.S. "Ice Bucket Challenge" without incident last nig

Bill DeSteph takes the A.L.S. Ice Bucket Challenge

ht at the Virginia Beach Hotel Association get together that was held at the Hilton Garden Inn.

This fun Facebook phenomenon has raised over 15 million dollars for the treatment and study of A.L.S. Check out the video of yours truly taking the challenge!

I have a busy Saturday in store so let me share with you where I'll be:

Wounded Warrior Softball Playoff
I am honored to have been asked to throw out the first pitch at this Saturday's Wounded Warrior Softball Tournament.
The first pitch is at 8:00 AM and you will not only get to see some great softball being played, you will get to see the triumph of the human spirit as these former service members play the game they love in spite of their physical limitations.

If you love a great day at the ball park, come on out to the Virginia Beach Sportsplex-this is an all-day event.

Then, it's on to the Westin

After the Softball event, I will be heading over to the Westin Hotel at Town Center where I will be the guest speaker at the Republican Party of Virginia Beach breakfast meeting.

This event is only $10.00 for an all-u-can eat breakfast buffet and the public is invited. 

 

I will bring the attendees up to speed on everything that is happening in the Virginia Legislature and will be taking questions from the audience after the presentation.  

 

The doors open at 8:00 am and the meeting begins at 8:30, I hope to see you there. 

  

Virginia Cares for Our Veterans     

The Commonwealth of Virginia has enacted some new legislation that will directly help our veterans and will hopefully improve their quality of life and provide long-term benefits to our Commonwealth that will help make Virginia a better place to live, raise a family, work or start a business.

 

Virginia Values Veterans (V3) - This program's mission is to educate and train employers about the value of veterans and help them connect with these personnel assets to maximize the productivity of their workforce. V3 helps employers recruit, hire, train and retain veterans. At Governor McAuliffe's direction, the program has been expanded and the state was recently awarded a federal grant of more than $3.4 million to help with veteran job training. 

So far, 209 V3-certified companies have pledged 6,694 jobs with 3,994 hires reported.

For more information, please visit the Virginia Values Veterans website.  

  

 

Interstate Compact on Education Opportunity for Military Children - Virginia is part of a coalition of 40 states that addresses the education transition issues of children of military families. The Interstate Compact is an agreement between states that removes barriers to education success imposed on military families because of frequent moves and deployments. It ensures timely enrollment of military children from kindergarten to 12th grade and facilitates the qualification and eligibility for enrollment in extracurricular, academic, athletic and social activities.
To better understand how this law might affect a military family, please visit the Virginia State Code website.

Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program - Surviving family members of deceased military personnel who have been admitted to any public institution of higher education or accredited post secondary institution that grants a degree, diploma or certificate in Virginia are eligible for free tuition there. To qualify, the deceased service member and the surviving parent must have had a physical presence in Virginia for at least five years prior to the date of admission and had a physical presence in Virginia on the date of his or her death and for at least five years immediately prior to his/her death. During the 2012-2013 academic year, 1,712 students received benefits from this program.
For more information about this program, please visit the Virginia General Assembly website.

Licensing Transfer for Military Spouses - Virginia offers a licensing transfer in any business, profession or occupation, as long as the licensing requirement from the previous state is similar to the requirements here.

Additional legislation was signed this year to decrease the amount of time from 30 to 20 days for military spouses to obtain professional licenses and credentials from the state.

These laws were enacted to help attract more qualified workers to Virginia and help ease the burden that military families would normally have to endure waiting for a professional license to continue or to find employment.

For more information, please visit the Code of Virginia website

Then, on to Tubby's Tavern
Finishing up a very busy Saturday, I will be attending a cookout beginning at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Tubby's Tavern, 2224 Virginia Beach Blvd right behind the Hardees.

This family-friendly event will be hosted by the Republican Party of Virginia Beach and Congressman Scott Rigell and Candidate for U.S. Senate Ed Gillespie will also be in attendance.

If you wish to attend (remember, it's FREE), please make sure to RSVP to the Republican Party of Virginia Beach as soon as possible so they can have an accurate count of expected visitors.

 

With warmest regards,